DOUG & JIM’S STAPLES TO NAPLES RALY 2008
by Jim Pengelly
Between the 18th and 21st of September I will be taking part in the 2008 Staples to Naples Rally – a potentially futile attempt to drive a banger worth less than £100 all the way from Staples Corner (a junction at the bottom of the M1) to Naples (the Italian city on the Mediterranean coast) without getting lost, breaking down or being kidnapped. All 1400 miles of it. In 4 days. With a bunch of like-minded idiots who do this sort of thing every year in a thoroughly British pointless-yet-fun sort of way. It seemed a bit of a shame to go to all this effort for nothing so we thought, why not raise a few pounds for charity while we go?
Doug (an ex-RAF Tornado pilot) is raising money for Help for Heroes, whilst I’m doing it for the Test Flying Memorial Project, which is something very close to my heart; my father having been killed in 1979 whilst test flying a Tornado prototype for BAE Systems. If you would like to sponsor me on this epic journey then simply click on ‘ChipIn’ button below this article. It doesn't matter if you don't have a PayPal account, you can donate securely using a debit or credit card.
We haven’t yet registered with Gift Aid yet, so we have chosen to use PayPal's secure ChipIn donation service rather than JustGiving.com. Suggested donation amounts are 1p/mile (£14), 2p/mile (£28) and 10p/mile (£140). Don’t worry about it being in USD, the site will simply convert it to good old Great British Pounds when the donations arrive in the charity account. Donations will go towards the building of a permanent monument to the 500 brave UK test flying crew who have lost their lives making aviation safer for everyone.
We would like to stress that any money you donate will go direct to the charities, not towards funding our jaunt across Europe (we’re funding that by selling Doug on eBay later).
Please give generously and wish us luck because our ‘trusty steed’ is a 1.3 Skoda ‘Favorite’, which is possibly not the world’s finest rally car.
Thanks.
Doug Cochrane & Jim Pengelly
 AEROPLANE MAGAZINE (part of IPC Media) |
|
